Easy Rider victims 'died close to wreck'

Photo / supplied

A coroner has ruled that drowning was the cause of death for eight people on the ill-fated fishing vessel Easy Rider, in an effort to bring closure quickly to the families of the missing men.

Easy Rider sank off the coast of Stewart Island on March 15, when it was on its way from Bluff to Big South Cape Island for mutton birding.

It was hit by a large wave and flipped just after midnight.

A search and rescue operation was started only after Easy Rider failed to rendezvous with Southland Lakes Helicopter at 2pm the following day, an Invercargill inquest heard this morning.

Dallas Tumoana Reedy (44), who clung to the overturned boat's hull for several hours then managed to use a 20-litre petrol container for buoyancy before being rescued, was the only survivor.

The bodies of Shane Ronald Topi (29), Boe Taikawa Gillies (28), John Henry Karetai (58) and Peter Glen Pekamu-Bloxham (53) were recovered during the subsequent search.

The bodies of four others - Skipper William Rewai Desmond Karetai (47), Paul Jason Fowler-Karetai (40), David George Fowler (50) and Odin Nirvana Karetai (7) - were never recovered.

Chief coroner Judge Neil MacLean said the missing four people "clearly perished at or about the same time'' as those whose bodies were recovered.

"It is also possible to conclude that the place of death was at or close by where the wreck of the Easy Rider was located,'' he said.

The limited-scope inquest was carried out at an early stage, only three months after the tragedy, to make progress for the families of the missing persons for death certification and documentation purposes.

Other aspects were still being investigated by the Transport Authority and Maritime New Zealand so it was not appropriate to go into too much detail, or address what lessons were to be learned, he said.

Evidence at the inquest was heard from two senior police officers who led the search efforts. About twenty family members were present in court.